Joel

Joel

@phoenixup.bsky.social

Time Bandit, IGF23 Nuovo Finalist, Part 1 out now: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/ Marxist, she/her https://phoenixup.itch.io/ thinking of giving up gamedev for the dance 💃

980 followers257 following185 posts

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Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

Replying to @phoenixup.bsky.social

ok i really am going to try not to treat this as a promo platform but by way of introduction i made Time Bandit, a real-time adventure game about stealing from your employer now im working on Part 2 please tell more people to play Part 1 so this unwise investment of gamedev time is justifiable

store.steampowered.comTime Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...
Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

adding to the list this year: rondo of blood, castlevania iii bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

other great games for october for people who don’t really like survival horror but want the spooky atmosphere: system shock remake (i’m playing this now for the first time), outer wilds: echoes of the eye, metroid fusion, shin megami tensei iii

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Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

forget playing it the intended way - simulate the solar sensor on emulator by calculating a ratio with your location's UV index (+ adjust for current cloud cover). in october this will always get you a low setting and thus a proper october-y challenge

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

it's funny how it's a stealth game and you're rewarded for *not* using sunlight. kojima has always been making games lush with features where an underlying asceticism attracts him to pushing you not to use them

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

adding to the list this year: rondo of blood, castlevania iii bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

other great games for october for people who don’t really like survival horror but want the spooky atmosphere: system shock remake (i’m playing this now for the first time), outer wilds: echoes of the eye, metroid fusion, shin megami tensei iii

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

actual last day! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

forgot to mention my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is like $3 right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...
Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

one more day! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

forgot to mention my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is like $3 right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...
Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

plz someone speedrun time bandit, i’ve been waiting bsky.app/profile/auth...

Extra Haunted Doll, Dana Lexa@authorx.bsky.social

I just finished a replay of Time Bandit, my first one since 2023, over the course of a few weeks with short regular check-ins, and I kept blabbing to my friends about it bc it's so charming and fascinating even on a second run. I also keep thinking about what a "speedrun" would look like...

Joel reposted

Extra Haunted Doll, Dana Lexa
@authorx.bsky.social

I just finished a replay of Time Bandit, my first one since 2023, over the course of a few weeks with short regular check-ins, and I kept blabbing to my friends about it bc it's so charming and fascinating even on a second run. I also keep thinking about what a "speedrun" would look like...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

forgot to mention my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is like $3 right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...

Joel reposted

Cat Manning
@catacalypto.bsky.social

this game is a) interestingly frustrating, b) very funny, c) absolutely worth your time (and I mean that very specifically)

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

forgot to mention my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is like $3 right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...

Joel reposted

Cursed Jeblike Dollthing
@namelesswrench.bsky.social

Three dollars for one of the best

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

forgot to mention my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is like $3 right now! store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...
Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

adding to the list this year: rondo of blood, castlevania iii bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

other great games for october for people who don’t really like survival horror but want the spooky atmosphere: system shock remake (i’m playing this now for the first time), outer wilds: echoes of the eye, metroid fusion, shin megami tensei iii

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

flower, sun, and rain is the perfect august game, incidentally, but you’ll have to wait a year for that. i’m committed to seasonal gaming

Joel reposted

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

Replying to @phoenixup.bsky.social

other great games for october for people who don’t really like survival horror but want the spooky atmosphere: system shock remake (i’m playing this now for the first time), outer wilds: echoes of the eye, metroid fusion, shin megami tensei iii

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

lost my 2 cis best friends this year for what i can only describe as them being uncomfortable with a trans woman having feelings. it’s crazy how you hear these kinds of stories on the internet and yet somehow they’re true

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

cissexuals showing basic kindness and respect and treating you like a fellow human being challenge level: somehow even harder the closer you are to them?

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

i can only dream of where we’d be now if love-de-likes had become paradigmatic retro classics whose timed game loops influenced generations of videogames bsky.app/profile/head...

headfallsoff@headfallsoff.com

the most common gaming take that bums me out the most is that timers are basically the most universally depsised mechanic by 95% of the audience. been a true believer since dead rising and the fire has only grown playing shenmue and lightning returns etc

Joel reposted

headfallsoff
@headfallsoff.com

the most common gaming take that bums me out the most is that timers are basically the most universally depsised mechanic by 95% of the audience. been a true believer since dead rising and the fire has only grown playing shenmue and lightning returns etc

Joel reposted

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

final day to get Time Bandit for $3! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

final day to get Time Bandit for $3! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

a few days left! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

a few days left! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

i’ve been reading the magic mountain, whose test of the reader’s patience with its monotonous repetitions reminded me of walking the long highways of flower, sun, and rain, whose newly english-patched ps2 version i’ve been playing. there is odd joy and meditative melancholy in dreamlike emptiness

Joel reposted

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

still time to get Time Bandit for like $3! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

still time to get Time Bandit for like $3! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

also if you've already played it - leaving a quick review on Steam is super appreciated! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

Cursed Jeblike Dollthing
@namelesswrench.bsky.social

You give three dollars and you receive one of the smartest games on the market

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

izzy curse-trel
@iznaut.com

i wish i still had a IT desk job so i could play this on the clock

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

Thom Cote ☎️ Get "COLD CALLING" on Steam!
@thomcote.bsky.social

Time Bandit is like no other game, you really just have to play it

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

i love hearing about spacing out Time Bandit over longer periods of time there was a great year-long longplay with inefficient puzzle solving and plenty of time dedicated to invented daily rituals like dancing to the music in the forest - sadly i can't find the videos bsky.app/profile/faew...

faewrath.bsky.social@faewrath.bsky.social

My friend and I played this game once a week for maybe two years. Super interesting how real time limits change the way you engage with sokoban puzzles and change the way you think!

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

also if you've already played it - leaving a quick review on Steam is super appreciated! bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel reposted

Aura/Moom
@moomanibe.bsky.social

incredible, massively underrated game combining realtime animal-crossing type features with puzzle game design in a way that means your choices have realtime impacts in a way no other game does. Your shift is over today- do you sneak in and risk getting shot? Do you take ease now for agony later?

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! please enjoy the rest of august in the sun. however if you like the idea of sneaking around at ur box-pushing job and stealing from work, you can do it in Time Bandit 5 minutes at a time store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

some life/project updates: after a long period of dealing with chronic illness from long covid, i've finally found a medley of drugs that seem to have dramatically improved things (fingers crossed) i have high hopes now of being able to work on 2 projects, in addition to time bandit pt 2:

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Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

2. an industrial music opera performance based on the book Doktor Faustus, about art and the tragic fate of gay desire under the rise of fascism ...i expect these 2 projects to be some of the most interesting i've worked on

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

some life/project updates: after a long period of dealing with chronic illness from long covid, i've finally found a medley of drugs that seem to have dramatically improved things (fingers crossed) i have high hopes now of being able to work on 2 projects, in addition to time bandit pt 2:

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

1. a challenging mountain climbing/hiking game telling a story with audio i captured with my ex partner on a trip, in which we failed to climb a mountain and inadvertently captured our breakup taking place in real time...an intimate rage game in which you can fall down and fail right along with us

Joel
@phoenixup.bsky.social

a few days left to get Time Bandit for cheap! best to start playing the game asap cus, you know, everything you do takes time bsky.app/profile/phoe...

Joel@phoenixup.bsky.social

my real-time adventure game Time Bandit is on sale for like $3 on Steam! it’s a game about pushing boxes at work and slowly, slowly stealing back from your boss store.steampowered.com/app/1481910/...

store.steampowered.comSave 66% on Time Bandit – Part 1: Appendages of the Machine on SteamA who̴͊leso̶̬̙̍me real-time adventure with a dark secret. At your relaxing new job managing resources and collecting crystals, everything you do seems to take ... much, MUCH longer than it should. In ...